Our basic human rights are not guaranteed. Freedom and equality
don’t truly exist for all. And, the fight will always be with us. There will be
moments when long-sought victories will be won. These victories for freedom and
equality ultimately are about togetherness. This togetherness is a precious
human commodity that must be celebrated. Sometimes, celebrating togetherness is
done alone.
One can even be alone within a crowded room. Maybe, those
surrounding you don’t even know there is something to celebrate. It is possible
that the struggle for freedom and equality feels as if something is being taken
away by others. The beliefs and values of those groups of people are
understandable. Often, these ideas originate from their parents, their
families, their communities, their religions.
To these people, our victory is a defeat for their ideals,
an attack against their freedom. Our togetherness is something that tarnishes
their ideas and their beliefs, stoking their fears and anxieties. Suddenly, they feel as if they are now the one’s
on the outside looking in, exposed and threatened. This is a completely
understandable response, as fear and intimidation were the tools used to teach
them how to treat others.
The most boisterous of voices, the scariest of bullies have
been unanswered for too long. For generations, these have been the predominant
lessons learned: that someone must be less than in order to feel greater than,
that those that are different from you must be evil. These same dynamics can be
found not just within countries, or states but also our communities and
families. To unwind these knots takes a relentless spirit. These knots are generations
of lessons that must be unlearned, and that process is very painful and very
difficult.
That is why we first celebrate togetherness alone. We must
see all of us as being in this together, with all of our fears, anxieties and
our knots too. If we don’t really believe this, we will become disheartened as
we work tirelessly to stand up to the ignorance that has generated oppression,
hatred and bigotry for too long.
If we can unwind our own knots, we will learn how to unwind them in others. We can do this; we just start with ourselves.
